Wannarexia

Wannarexia, or anorexic yearning,[1] is a label applied to someone who claims to have anorexia nervosa, or wishes they did, but does not.[2] These individuals are also called wannarexic,[3] “wanna-be ana”[4] or "anorexic wannabe".[5] The neologismwannarexia is a portmanteau of the latter two terms. It may be used as a pejorative term.[6]

Dr. Richard Kreipe states that the distinction between anorexia and wannarexia is that anorexics aren't satisfied by their weight loss, while wannarexics are more likely to derive pleasure from weight loss.[3][8] Many people who actually suffer from the eating disorder anorexia are angry, offended, or frustrated about wannarexia.[3]

Wannarexics may be inspired or motivated by the pro-anorexia, or pro-ana, community that promotes or supports anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than an eating disorder.[9] Some participants in pro-ana web forums only want to associate with "real anorexics" and will shun wannarexics who only diet occasionally, and are not dedicated to the "lifestyle" full-time.[10] Community websites for anorexics and bulimics have posted advice to wannarexics saying that they don't want their "warped perspectives and dangerous behaviour to affect others."[6]

Kelsey Osgood uses the label in her book "How To Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia" where she describes wannarexia as “a gateway drug for teenagers”.[11]

Drummond, Katie (2007-08-08). "Wannarexia: When Death Becomes Trendy". Her Active Life. The Final Sprint, LLC. Retrieved 2007-08-25. …but for many young women, anorexia has become a hot new trend, so common that medical experts have coined a new name, ‘wannarexia,’ to describe the dangerous fad.

Forman-Brunell, Miriam (2001). Girlhood in America: an encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. pp. p. 245. ISBN1-57607-206-1. With this widespread popularization of the illness, susceptible girls could be heard to say, not "I want to be thin" but "I want to be anorexic.

^ abCohen, D. (2007). "Live from London The worrying world of eating disorder wannabes". BMJ (British Medical Journal)335 (7618): 516. doi:10.1136/bmj.39328.510880.59. Wannarexia is a pejorative term and…is the latest word to come from the fast paced world of eating disorder terminology…. Community websites for genuinely anorexic and bulimic people have hit back by setting up sites offering advice to those trying to 'develop anorexia,' saying that they don't want their 'warped perspectives and dangerous behaviour to affect others.'